GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Imagine going to the emergency room for a heart attack, and the doctors say they can't help you because there's no money left. It's something you'll never hear.
But according to Senator Stabenow, patients seeking help for mental health or addiction often hear that funding has run out.
Starting this month, the nearly three dozen Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in Michigan will be reimbursed through Medicaid for the cost of services, which is something that has never been done before.
Christy Buck, the executive director of the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan, said this will provide access to more Michiganders who are in need of these services.
"For too long, we've been concentrating on everything below the neck," said Buck. "And so we know that oftentimes, mental illness and substance abuse disorders do not get treatment due to the lack of funding and dependence on grants."
Buck said, "So this is going to stabilize, and it's going to get people more help and good help when it's needed."
These services are available 24/7, 365 days a year. Buck said the state is starting the initiative with 13 Behavioral Health Clinics, including West Michigan Community Mental Health in Lake, Mason and Oceana Counties.
The remaining 20 clinics will continue to be funded through start-up grants, but lawmakers say the next step will be to get those clinics full Medicaid funding as well.
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